This was my first Bukowski poetry book. I had read a few snippets of his work here and there and it intrigued me. His profanity, his bluntness, his (misogynistic is so over used) base view of women. Yes, he was a drunk, a gambler, a womanizer... and it made for great poems. This book wasn't full of great poems. Published after his death, it had good poems and a few great poems. I'd like more Bukowski for poems such as ; something's knocking at the door , this one, surreal tangerines... a few of my favorites.